Hatch-cover.



M. FUNDER.

HATCH COVER.

APPLICATION FILED 0012.3, 1914.

1 1 32,71 4. Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

llllllll LO In 5% E @v LC) [-9 F3 *Q LLLLQU M. FUNDBR.

HATCH COVER.

APrLIoATIoN HLnnooT, 1914.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M. FUNDER.

HATCH COVER.

APPLICATION FILED 0013, 1914.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

{Vla-maw FUN DER.

Quoi/wu,

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HATHEW FUNDED, OF FAIRPORT'HARBOR, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 0F TEN ONE-HUNDEDTHSTO ROLAND G. SXINNER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, AND FORTY-FI VE ONE-HUNDREDTHSTO FRANK B. CHILSON, OF PAINESVILLE, OHIO.

HATCH-COVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

Application tiled October 8, 1914. Serial No. 864,859.

To all whom `it may concern,

Be it known that 1, MATHEW FUNDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fairport Harbor, in the county of Lake and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hatch- Covers, ofwhich the following is a specication, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings. n

This invention relates to 4'an improved hatch cover and has for itsprimary object to provide a, cover for the hatch openings of vesselswhich is so constructed that it combines the necessary strength with awater tight closure and ease of operation.

In its more specific aspect the invention embodies a plurality ofhingedly connected cover sections, and means for causing said sectionsto assume a folded posit1on upon each other at one end of the hatchopening when the cover is removed.

The invention has for another object to provide means movable with thecover for supporting the folded sectlons thereof 1n open position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide improved means foreasily and quickly securing the cover sections 1n closed position uponthe coammg.

The invention has for a further general object to materially improve theconstruction of hatch covers for vessels so as to produce a water tightclosure over the opening, and at the same time admit of the movement ofthe cover to its open or closed position with facility and despatch.

With the above and other o )ects invlew,

the invention consists in novel features of construction, combination,and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter referred, to and moreparticularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aplan view, portions being broken away illustrating a hatch coverembodying the present invention in its preferred form; Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section, one-half of the cover being shown in a perth7open,

Vfolded position in dotted lines; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional viewof one-half of the cover completely folded;

Figs. 4 and are enlar ed detail sectional views illustr/ating the ajoints between the coverxsections, the re ative position of the sectionswhen folded being illustrated 1n dotted lines; Fig. 6 is an enlargeddetail section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 Fig. 7is a similarsection taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectiontaken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1, showing the means for fastening the twohalves .in putting on or taking the same off, as

they are quite heavy, and the telescoping steel covers can not beconstructed light enough to enable the same to be handled with facilityand still have sufficient strength to withstand the weight to whichthey' `are subjected by heavy seas. In both of these cover constructionsit is necessary to use tarpaulins as an additional protecting cover toprevent the sea water or even rain from entering beneath the wood orsteel cover and entering the hatch opening. The steel or wooden coversmust also be securely clamped upon the coaming of the hatch opening atfrequent intervals.

It is the primary purpose of my invention. to provide at a moderateexpense a cover having the requisite strength, but which may also beeasily moved to its open or closed position, and which will beabsolutely water tight when disposed over the hatch opening withoutnecessitating the use of tarpaulins. l

In attaining the above end, the hatch cover consists of two primaryparts, each of which includes relatively wide and narrow sectionsdesignated by the numerals 5 and 6, respectively. These cover sectionsare constructed of metal plates, and as shown the wide and narrowsections are alternately arranged. rlhe sections of the cover areequipped at spaced points along each of their longitudinal edges withhinge castings 7, the castings contiguous to ene edge of the plate beingarranged upon the opposite side of the late with respect to the otherseries of castings. Each of the metal cover sections 5 and 6 is furtherprovided upon its upper side and at one of its longitudinal edges withspaced angle bars, 8 and 9, respectively, which extend the entire lengthof the cover sections. One flange of each of said bars is securelv4riveted to the cover section, while the other flange projects at rightangles to the body of the cover section. The flange of the angle bar 8is disposed beyond the longitudinal edge of the plate while thecorresponding flange of the inner angle bar 9 is of slightly greaterwidth than the flange of the bar 8. 'lhe purpose of these angle barswill be hereinafter particularly| referred to. To the other longitudinaledge of each of the cover sections a bar 10 of Z-shaped form in crosssection is riveted. The intermediate portion of this bar extends in aplane at right angles to the cover section and the laterally disposedflange 11 of said bar extends in parallel relation to the cover sectionand beyond its longitudinal edge, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5 ofthe drawings. To this latter flange a plate 12 is riveted, said platehaving an angle bar ,fixed to one face thereof. This bar is opposed tothe Z-shaped bar 10 and its unattaclied Harige extends in parallelrelation to the intermediate portion of said bar l0 and is spaced fromthe edge of the plate 12, thereby producing a longitudinally extendingstop shoulder 14. The hinge castings 7 on one edge of the wider coversections 5 are secured upon the plate 12. The castings 7 of thecontiguous cover sections are, of course, connected by the hinge pivots15.

1t will be seen from Fig. 2 of the drawings that when the cover sectionsare arranged in closed position upon the coaming of the hatch opening,the hinge pivots are alternately disposed above and below the plane ofthe body plates constituting the several sections of the cover.

The deck of the vessel slopes or curves in the usual manner and to saiddeck around the edges of the hatch opening, the coaming 16 is secured.This coaming is of shallow channel-shaped form in cross section, theflanges on the longitudinal edges thereof projecting outwardly. Thelower or base flange of the coaming wall is fastened to the deck, whileupon the upper flange thereof the several sections of the hatch coverrest when in their closed positions. To the outer face of the coamingwall an angle bar 17 is secured, said bar being located immediatelybeneath the upper flange on said wall and having its wider horizontallydisposed flange 18 projecting outwardly beyond the edge of the flange onthe coaming wall. The end 'edges of each of the cover sections and alsothe longitudinal edge of the end section of each half of the cover whichrests upon the end wall of the coaming are downwardly bent or curved, asshown at 19, to rest upon the outwardly extending flange 18 of the anglebar 17 when the cover is closed. It is to be noted that the plates 12which are carried by each of the wider cover sections 5 are of greaterlength than said cover sections and extend beyond the opposite end edgesthereof, while the remaining plates 12 carried by the narrower coversections 6 are of substantially the same length as the cover sections.To each of these latter cover sections at opposite ends of the plate 12,a curved casting 20 is secured, and to the under side of each of saidplates carried by the wider sections of the cover a casting 21is-secured, said latter castings being provided in their bottom faceswith recesses or notches 22.

The parts above described constitute the cover proper and beforeproceeding with a detail description of the means for manipulating thetwo halves of the cover in order to move the sections to their openpositions or to their closed positions, I will first explain the purposeof the particular hatch cover construction above set forth.

One important object of the angle bars, Z bars, and plates 12 is toreinforce or sti fl'en each of the section plates 5 and 6 to enable thesame to withstand the weight of the immense quantities of water whichwill be thrown thereon in a heavy sea. It is to be particularly notedthat these bars are each arranged on the top of the cover plates so thatthey will extend over the coaming walls. They will thus have thenecessary support at opposite ends, which could not be provided if saidplates were arranged on the under side of the cover sections. Thepeculiar arrangementof these bars also results in another markedadvantage in the practical operation of the hatch cover. Referring toFigs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, it will be noted that the only placewhere water may leak through between the plate sections is between theangle bars 9 and 13. Any water, however, entering at this point will runinto the rectangular channel formed at the joint between the coversections by the angle bars 8 and 9, and it will be noted that in view ofthe arrangement of these bars, no water can enter the hold of the vesseluntil said channel is completely filled so that the water would flowover the edge of the angle bar 8 between the same and the Z bar 10.Referring now to'Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, it will be observed thatthe castings 20, 21 close the ends of the channels so that water can notenter the same. The inner faces of these castings are formed withcavities 20 and 21 respectivelv which afford communication between fonthe'upper edge of the coaming wall from whence 1t will find its escapebeneath th'e bent down edges of the plates 5 and 6. It is thereforemanifest that no water can possibly leak through the joints between theseveral cover plates and enter the hold of Ythe vessel. When heavy seaswash over the cover, some water will probably find its wav into thesechannels, but in view of the fact that the seas would only cover thedeck of the vessel for a short time, the channel would have ample timeto discharge any water collecting therein between the seas. It is to beborne in mind, however, that I do not desire to limit myself to thedetails of the channel construction and protecting means for the coversections, shown in the accompanying drawings, but also claim as a partof my invention any mechanical structure whereby the desired protectionand drainage may be afforded. The flange 1 8 on the angle bar 17 alsohas an addltlonal function, in that it protects the turned down ends 19of the cover plates from the immense water pressure of heavy seas whichmight otherwise tend to tear the cover off of the coami'ng wall.

lThe construction and arrangement of the several parts which I shall nowdescribe are identical at each end of the hatch opening.

The section 5 of the cover, which is disposed over the end of the hatchopening, is provided adjacent its opposite ends with spaced arms 23which project over the flanged edge 19 of said cover section. Betweeneach of these pairs of arms the bars 24 are fulcrumed as at 25, saidfulcrum being located at a bend in the bar which connects the long andshort arms 26 and 27, respectively. The longer arm of said bar when thecover is closed rests upon the inner angle bar 9 carried by the coversection. The other end of each of these Abars 24 is pivotally mounted ina block or casting 29 which is permanently fixed to the deck of thevessel. At opposite ends of the end section of the cover the rails 30are arranged, said rails having straight parallel portions adapted to bedisposed through openings in outwardly projecting ears 31 which arefixed upon the coaming wall 16. The extremities of the rails are adaptedto be seated in openings provided in the deck castings indicated at 32.However, if desired, these rails may be permanently mounted. Each ofsaid rails is formed with a gently curved section 33 which is disposedabove the plane of the cover sections when the latter are closed, andfaces inwardly toward the center ofthe cover. This curved portion 33 ofthe rail merges into a substantially semi-circular upper portion 34. Atthis point attention may be directed to the fact that the notches 22 inthe castings 21 on the ends of the longer plates 12 are disposed in linewith the rails 30 while the castings 20 are inside of said rails.

To the inner end section of each half of the cover and on opposite sidesof the center thereof s aced lates 35 are fixed at one of their en s,sai plates extending in relatively opposite angular directions andriveted to the cover. The free edge of one of these end sections has alongitudinally extending Z-shaped bar 36 secured thereto in spacedrelation to its extreme edge and to the unattached horizontal flange ofthis bar a plate 37 is fixed. An angle bar 38 is also secured to theedge of this cover section in spaced relation to the bar 36 and the edgeof the plate 37 is outwardly bent away from the edge of the outwardlyextending flange of the bar 38, as indicated at 39. Between this bentedge of the plate 37 and the flange of the bar 38 the outwardlyprojecting horizontal flange 40 of a Z-shaped ,bar secured upon the freelongitudinal edge of the opposed end section of the other half of thecover is adapted to engage.

The halves of the hatch cover are securely held together at theirabutting ends by means of fasteners, shown in detail in Fig. 8 of thedrawings. Three of these fasteners are preferably employed, although itwill be understood that a greater or less num-` ber may be used ifdesired. Each of said fasteners includes an arm 45 which is pivot-w allymounted at one of its ends between spaced ears 46 secured upon theZ-shaped bar 36 on one cover section. The other end of this arm is bentor curved as at 47 and upon the extremity thereof a locking bar 48 ispivoted adjacent one of its ends. In the end of the bar 48 which ispivotally connected to the arm 45 an adjusting bolt 50 is threaded. Oneend of this bolt is adapted to be received in a suitable seat providedfor the same upon the intermediate portion of the Z-shaped bar 40 and itWill be obvious that as soon as the bar 48 has been swung into positionthe pressure exerted upon the bar 48 above its pivot will tend to forcethe other end 49 of said bar downwardly into binding engagement upon thecover.

As an additional means of security and to hold the cover sections intight engagement upon the coaming wall, I employ side and end fastenerssuch as that illustrated in Fig. 9 of the drawings. These fasteners arearranged upon the opposite side walls of the coaming, preferably one foreach of the cover sections, and upon the end walls of the coamng twosuch fasteners are mounted for engagement upon the end sections of thecover. Each of these fasteners includes a curved arm 51 ywhich ispivoted at one end upon a block or casting 52 secured upon the coamingwall. When 1n its locked position the arm 51v extends upwardly andinwardly over` the cover section, and upon the other end thereof av bar5,3 is fulcrumed as at 54. This bar, is provided with an an ular endportion 55 in which an adjusting threaded. The operation of.th1s deviceis substantially identical with the fastener shown in Fig. 8, the outerend of the bolt 56 being received in a cu ped seat provided upon a platesecured to t e cover section.

For the purpose xof facilitating the movement of the several sections ofeach half of they cover to their open positions, I employ a tripod 41which is adapted to be arranged adjacent one end of the hatch cover andsuitably anchored temporarily to the deck. A sheave or pulley 42 ismounted upon the upper end of the tripod and around the same the cable43 extends. One end of this cable is branched as at 44 and connected tothe corresponding plates 35 upon opposite sides of the center of thehatch cover sections, said branch cables being provided with suitablehooks for engagement with the openings in said plates. The other end ofthis cable may be attached in any suitable manner to a drum operated byan engine.

Having now described the several structural features of my invention,its operation will be understood as follows: Assuming that both parts ofthe cover are in closed position upon the coaming wall 16, the severalfastening devices are first loosened and disengaged from the coversections, and the fasteners which connect the opposed ends of the twohalves of the cover are also removed from their locked positions. Thetripod 41 is now placed in position and the cable passed around thepulley 42 and connected to the inner end section of one-half of thecover, as above explained. When the engine is operated and the cablewound upony its drum, the pull exerted by said cable slides the coversections longitudinally upon the upper flanges of the coaming. Thissliding` movement of the cover sections causes the bars 24 to be forcedupwardly and backwardly upon the deck blocks 29. The castings 21 on therst of the cover sections 5 soon engage the inclined sections 33 on theside rails 30 and sliding along same break the joint between said coversection and the next narrower section 6 of the-cover. As the movement ofthe cover is continued along the upper edge of the coaming wall, and thecastings 21 continue their movement over the upper curved portions 34 ofthe rails, the arms 27 of the bars 24 will rest upon thc deck. The firstcover section at this time must leave the rails 30, as it is pushed bythe lt 56 is' succeeding sections of` the cover whereby said rst sectionis caused to swing backwardly against the angularly extendin long arms26 of the bars 24. The joint tween the sections/having been. broken bythe en agement of thc castings 21 upon the rai s 30, the next sectipn ofthe cover will fold upon said first section.L However, before the;second section moves into parallel relation to the first sction which isdis osed upon the bars 24, t e succeedin third, section of the coverwhich is relative y narrow will engage upon the upper portions of therails 30, the castings 21 moving upon and being supported by said rails.By the time the second section arrives at its completely foldedposition, the following section will be disposed at such an angle withrespect to the next succeeding section of the cover that it will swingupwardly and backwardly upon said second section, as it is forced orpushed to its closed position. It will thus be seen that the severalplates or sections of each half of the cover are compactly folded andsupported upon the bars 24 so that they occupy comparatively littlespace. The lower edges of the folded sections rest upon the inclinedbrace bars 26. After one half of the cover has been thus folded in itsopen position, the tripod 41 is movedf to a position beyond the oppositeend of the hatch opening and the other half of said cover opened in thesame manner. The halves of the cover may be as readily moved to theirclosed positions over the hatchway by arranging the cable supportingtripod at the far end of the hatch opening and connecting the cable tothe other pair of plates 35 which extend toward the free edge of thecover sections. The sections will readily move from their foldedpositions to their closed positions upon the coaming wall, the castings21 engaging upon the rails 30 which serve to direct the sections of thecover upon the coaming as they are unfolded. The two halves of the coverare then securely fastened upon the coaming wall in the manner abovedescribed.

It will be noted that the bars 24 have a twofold object, namely, first,to carry the end section to a position beyond the hatch opening, andsecondly, to provide a seat or support for the folded cover sections.This position of the folded sections will permit a loading chute to beplaced close to the end of the hatch opening without' interfering withthe cover and will still leave sufficient walking space between thecover and the deck rail-of the vessel.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction, manner of operation and severaladvantages of lmy invention will be clearly and fully understood. Itwill be obvious that by constructing the two halves of thecover in aplurality of foldable tions, the cover may be very easily and quicklymovedfrom its closed to itsopen position or vice versa and with amlnirnum of manual labor. As above stated, the rails 30 are preferablyremovably mounted 1n position for use so that they can be carriedtogether with the tripod from one hatch to the other. In view of thevery simple form and construction of the several parts employed it willfurther be obvious that the device can be produced at smallmanufacturing cost.

While I have shown and described the preferred construction andarrangement of the several elements, it will be understood thattheinvention is susceptible of considerable modilication in the detailsand proportions thereof, and I therefore reserve the privilege ofresorting to all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodiedwithin the spirit and scope of the inventlon as claimed.

I claim:

1. A hatch cover, means for moving said cover to open or closed positionover the hatch opening, and -a support moved by the cover to itssupporting position to receive and support the cover in open position.

2. A hatch cover, means for moving said cover to o en or closed positionover the hatch openlng, and a support connected to the cover and movedthereby into position upon the deck of the vessel to receive and supportthe cover in open position.

3. A hatch cover including a plurality of foldable cover sections, meansfor moving said sections and disposing the same in superposed relationentirely bevond the coaming wall and out of contact therewith, and asupport connected to one of the cover sections and movable to itssupporting position when said cover is opened to receive and support thecover sections.

4. A hatch cover including a plurality of foldable cover sections, meansfor moving said sections longitudinally with respect to the hatchopening and folding the same upon each other in open position at one endof Ysaid hatch opening, and means connected to one of said sections andmovable therewith to support the folded sections in their open position.

. 5. A hatch cover, means for moving said cover to open or closedposition over the hatch opening, and a support pivotally mounted uponthe vessel deck and moved by the cover to its supporting position toreceive and support said cover in open position.

6. A hatch cover including a plurality of foldable cover sections, meansfor moving said cove:` sections in superposedY relation to each otherentirely beyond the coaming wall and out of contact therewith, and asupport mounted 'upon the vessel deck and moved by one of the, coversections as said cover sections are folded upon each other to disposethe support in position to receive the superposed cover sections. r

7. Alhatch cover, means for moving said' land means arranged at one endof the hatch opening to break the hinge joints between said sections andcause the same to fold.

9. A hatch cover including a 'plurality of hingedly connected sections,adjacent sections folding in opposite directions upon each other, meansfor moving said sections longitudinally over the hatch opening, meansarranged at the end of the hatch opening to break the hinge jointsbetween said sections and cause the same to feld, and bars pivotallymounted at one of their ends adjacent to the hatch opening and connectedto one of the cover sections for movement therewith, said bars eachhaving an arm adapted to receive and support the sections of the coverin their folded position.

10. A hatch cover including a plurality of hingedlygconnected sections,adjacent sections folding in opposite directions upon each other, meansfor moving said sections longitudinally over theV hatch opening, meansarranged at one end of the hatch opening to break the hinge jointsbetween said sections and cause the same'to fold, and bars pivotallymounted at one of their ends adjacent to the hatch opening provided withangularly disposed arms extending over and upon one end section of thecover, said bars being pivotally connected to said end section andmovable therewith when the sections are folded to dispose said arms inan upwardly inclined position and provide a support for the folded coversections.

11. A hatch cover including a plurality of hingedly connected sections.rails arranged at opposite sides of the hatch opening and at one endthereof. means for moving the cover sections longitudinally overthehatch opening, means carried by alternate cover sections forengagement upon said rails whereby the hinge ioints are broken and thesections caused to fold upon each other` and means to receive andsupport the folded scctions at the end of the hatch opening.

12. A hatch cover including a plurality of hingcdly connected sections.adjacent sections being adapted to fold in opposite directions upon eachother, means arranged at mounted upon the vessel deck y the cover intoposition to re-` receive andl support the folded-eoversec `orr'the y yrails and break the hinge -j'oints between 'the M folda lflef A coversections,

tions, andymeans adapted to be connected to one of the` sections to'move vthe samef'tother' openfor closed positions.

13. A hatch cover including a plurality of hingedly connected sections,curved' rails re,- movably4 mounted at opposite sides of the hatch,`opening and at one end thereof,means cover sections tocoper'ate withsaid sections whereby 'the samev are cansedto fold* upon each other,means for moving -said` sections over the hatch opening tol their' openor closed position,- and'rneans connected to one ofthe sections andmovable therewith to support the cover sections in their foldedvpositron.

14:21 lA hatch, coverA consisting of'l two halves, each including f ali'1rality' 4 '.of

hingedlyuconnected sections, means for sl1d ing the halves ofthe coverylongitudinally overthe hatch opening,'relatively stationary means tocause-the cover sections of eac half to fold-upon each otherA as theyare moved to their open positions, means for fastening the contiguoussections of the two halves of the cover together when the same are inclosed position, and additional means for fastening each cover sectionto theliatch' coaming.

I5. A hatch cover', means for moving said l cover to open or closedposition over the hatch opening, and' a, support movably mounted uponthe vessel deck'and pivotally connected to said cover tobe'movedithereby to its supporting position to receive and support thecover in open position.

' 16.` A hatch! cover including a plurality of foldable cover sections,means for moving saidsections longitudinally with respectto thel hatchopening, and means arranged-at the endfof the hatchl opening' tolbreakthe joints connecting said seetions.;

,y 17. A hatch cover, Ameans'for"rnovin-g said cover to'open-orclosedjpos'ition over the, liratch o peni`n'g,fA and'a,-support-'N` movably mounted'uponthe vessel deck and -pivotallyconnected-to saidvcover and movdby'the 7 cover into position.tooreceiv'e and 'support the cover in an open position entirelyoutof"Contact' with'the coaming wall.

18.- A- hatch cover includinga pluralityI of y and reinforcing meansarranged upon the upper side 'of Ieachs cover` section' 'and;adapted to'colrengage with die refomjngamean's' on the ladjagent section toprovideaseries of transverse rein.-

1 "i A man @over monding a plurality 0ffol'el'ablev ooversections.,andj.. a transveizaelyla1,1 extending water drain. arranged/at veacjoint of the cover upon the upper side thereofsubstantially asl and-forthe' purposel set forth.;

20. A hatch coverincluding a-fplur'ality of foldable coversections, andprotectedwa-I ter' drains extending transversely across the upper sideyof the cover at each joint thereof substantially as and for lthe purposeset forth; f

21. A hatch cover including ay pluralityv of foldabl'e cover sections,and protected d rainse'xtending transversely upon the upA per side voi'thel cover at each joint thereof and extending at their ends Yover thecoamin-g wall of the hatch opening substantially. as and for the purposeset forth.

22. A hatch cover comprising a series of hingedly'A connected foldablesections, and drainage means at each joint of the cover to exclude waterfrom the hatchway. Y

23. A hatch cover including a series of hingedly connected foldablesections, and sectional drainage channels arranged upon"4 the uppersurface of the cover at each1 joint thereof and arranged upon said coversections to permit the same to be folded'to their open positions.

24. A hatch cover including a. series of1 hingedly connected foldablesections, water arresting means at each joint ofthe cover, and drainagechannels to receive the seepage through said larresting means.,

25. A hatch* cover including a. lplurality of foldable cover sections,means for moving said sections to an open position andin'V foldedsuperposed relation to each other,

and a'support connected to one 'of said sections and moved thereby toits supporting position to receive and support the cov'ei"sec tions outof contact with the coaming wall.

26.1A hatch cover including a plurality of foldable cover sections,means for moving said' sections to an open position and in foldedsuperposed relation to each other, and a, support engaged by onel of thecover secs tions and moved therebyto itssupporting position to receiveand l'supportth'e sections in afvertically inclined plane withrespect tothe coaming'wall. j

y 27. A hatch cover including a plurality of' foldable coverl sections,means for movingY said sections to an open positionandin foldedsuperposed relation ,tol each other, andv a support engaged by one'ofthe cover-.secr-A tions and moved thereby to its'supporting position toreceive andsupport the 'sectinis` in a verticallyinclined plane withrespect to thecoaming wall and entirely out oneens. tact therewith. v pu j 28. A hatch cover including a pluralityl of foldable cover sections,means for movits Sd'sevtbns, to an Composition and. in.AA foldedsnperposed` relation to each other,

rse

and a support movably mounted upon the vessel deck and permanentlyconnected to one of the cover sections to be moved thereby to itssupporting position to receive and support said sections.

29. A hatch cover including a plurality l of foldable cover sections,means for moving said sections to an open position and in foldedsuperposedrelation to each other, and a support movably mounted upon thevvessel decky and permanently connected to one of the cover sections tobe moved thereby to its supporting position to receive and support saidsections in a vertically inclined position with respect *to the coamingwall and entirely out of contact therewith.

30. A hatch cover including a plurality of foldable cover sections,means for moving said sections to an open position and in foldedsuperposed relation to each other, and a support pivotally mounted uponthe vessel deck and permanently connected to one of the cover sectionsto be moved thereby to its supporting position to receive and supportthe folded cover sections in open position.

31. A hatch cover including a lurality of foldable cover sections, meansor moving said sections to an open position and in folded superposedrelation to each other, and a support movable with the cover to itssupporting position when the cover sections are folded upon each otherto receive and support said cover sections in an outwardly inclirliedposition entirely beyond the coaming wa 32. A hatch cover including aplurality of foldable cover sections, means for moving said sections toan open position and in folded superposed relation to each other, and apair of supporting members pivotally mounted upon the vessel deck to beengaged by one of the cover sections and moved thereby to theirsupporting positions to receive and support the folded cover sections inan outwardly inclined position with respect to the coaming wall.

33. A hatch cover comprising a series of relatively movable coversections, and drainage means carried by each cover section to extendover the joints between the several sections when the cover is closedand exclude water from the hatchway.

34. A hatch cover comprising a series of relatively movable coversections permanently connected together at their contiguous edges, and adrainage channel carried by each of the cover sections to extend overthe joint between said sections when the cover is closed and excludewater from the hatchway.

35. A hatch cover comprising a series of cover sections hingedlyconnected together at their contiguous edges to fold upon each other, awater receiving channel secured upon each section to extend over thehinge joint between the same and the contiguous section, and waterarresting means carried by the latter cover section and engaged withsaid channel when the cover is closed to exclude water therefrom. i

In testimony whereof I hereunto aix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

MATHEW FUNDER.

Witnesses:

E. P. LARnPHAIR, C. W. REYNOLDS.

